Undefeated Andre Ward moves up to 175 pounds to take on undefeated WBA, IBF and WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Sergey Kovalev in a fight between top pound for pound fighters. Kovalev shows his power early, stunning Ward with a jab in the opening round and knocking him onto all fours with a right hand in the second. Ward slowly battles back into the fight after the midway point, landing the more telling blows as Kovalev slows down. He stuns Kovalev with a pair of jabs in the seventh and wins just enough rounds to edge a close, controversial unanimous decision on the scorecards.

Comments

I'm so glad we're going to see this fight, I honestly did not believe we would see it this year, there are few fights that I think are more exciting now, because they are two likely top 5 fighters, in the same division, with different styles which could collide in a very entertaining fascinating manner. I think the sport of boxing needs fights like this to keep it going, it has had a lot of disappointment this year, Golovkin vs Alvarez highly requested but seemingly dead in the water now, Tyson Fury on top of the world last year but having issues which may have cost him his titles, which is a real shame, and a massive blow to the heavyweight division, two tragic incidents with devastating consequences, I think this fight not letting anyone down will really help boxing, especially if it's tight, competitive, and fascinating.

I think Andre Ward is the favourite to win this fight, not a heavy favourite, but the majority believe he will win the fight, he's a masterful boxer, and a brilliant technician in the ring, and he has a very big reputation as the guy who one doesn't expect to lose, but Sergey Kovalev is a massive threat to any opponent, and he must not be underestimated. Something I think we should establish is that this is not 'boxer vs puncher', it isn't just a case of that, at all, not for a second, this is a very good fight between two great all round boxers, one maybe the superior technical fighter, the other, maybe, the heavier handed of the two, but they're both very skilled on an equal level. In my opinion, this is a genuine 50/50 fight, but it's a 50/50 fight for different reasons to why many believe it's so close, I believe on the outside, in terms of boxing from range, it's even, maybe one is ever so slightly better than the other, it's not secret that Ward is so intelligent and can box his opponents into confusion on he outside, we've seen him do it so many times, but Sergey Kovalev, out thought, out boxed, and out classed the legendary Bernard Hopkins, which is an out standing achievement, granted, Hopkins was 49, but it wasn't just a case of physical attributes, or physical advantages, Kovalev out thought him, and out classed him, even with so many years of experience behind him. I think on the inside, technique wise, Ward is in a different league to Kovalev, and it's no contest, which makes you think, if Ward can make it an inside fight, (which in itself, is quite a challenge), then it could be Ward's fight, and one he wins comfortably, but the weight situation (if it benefits anyone in particular) will benefit Kovalev, I believe, it's very likely that Kovalev is both much physically stronger than Ward, and the far bigger puncher, and these are both two individual, very useful attributes, to have them both, in a big way, is very valuable indeed.

I think Andre Ward will do the expected and have the edge in this fight, maybe it's a close fight that could be disputed as to who the winner is, maybe it will be decisive, I don't know, but I think this could well be a close fight, and whoever wins it, will not find doing so easy at all, that, I can almost guarantee. I think Kovalev will try to push Ward back, make him work early, and try to take over down the stretch, he fancies he can get the stoppage, why wouldn't he?, but I don't think he's obsessed with doing so, and I think he would happily settle with a decision victory, I think his plan is to make it physical, but maintain distance, punch through the guard from range, negate Ward's technical skills, out hustle him, fatigue him, and I think this will be very effective, but I just feel Ward is just that little bit better, I think adaptability is the main difference, I could be wrong, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kovalev was to pull off the slight upset. I think Ward's plan will be to claim the centre of the ring, use his upper body movement, punch from angles in which Kovalev can't use reactive defence to evade his offensive attacks, try to keep the fight on the inside, try not to put too much into each shot, because he'll need to be conservative as the guy who is not the career heavyweight, probably the much less physically strong of the two, I don't think it would be foolish of Ward to use time periods of both being on the outside as rests, and try to use his superior foot speed to get just out of range in time to make Kovalev miss, because against a fighter like Kovalev, in a fight like this, he will have to work very hard, but I think Ward can use his tools, come through this, and pull it off, if he does, then this is a career defining victory for him in my opinion, he's already one of the best in the world, but this potential victory could make a massive difference.

I hope this fight is positive, and a bit of a war, not that I mind personally, but it would make the wide fan base out there much more appreciative, and a rematch would be made much more likely.

Whoever wins legitimately becomes pound for pound number one for me. Undeniable that Ward's inside game is too good but it will be tough to do that against Kovalev. Smart and strong, he and his team will be looking to negate Ward on the inside, maybe catch him with a right hand coming in... you never know. One of the big mysteries of this fight will be how Ward reacts to Kovalev's power because Kovalev I think is the hardest hitting and one of the most intelligent opponents he has had ever.

Ward never comes to lose and he is a fantastic boxer. Kovalev is as tough as nails and is a fantastic boxer-puncher. This is an incredibly hard fight to predict. Currently I lean towards Kovalev by decision. He may drop Ward but I doubt he'll stop Andre Ward. Ward doesn't really have the power to KO Kovalev but has the ring IQ to outbox him.

I'm with you there, in my opinion, this is such a special occasion, two top five fighters facing each other, not often you see that. Absolutely, yes, but that's what creates the most crucial question which won't be answered until fight night. Smart thinking, it's very likely a that they will think like that, because Kovalev is a fantastic counter puncher, but I think Ward would be cautious to take big risks, he wouldn't lunge in or rush in, that's for sure, I would say he needs to get up close, smother Kovalev's work, make it messy, out hustle him, but I think the weight situation makes this extremely difficult, and unlikely. There's very little doubt that Kovalev is the biggest puncher Ward has ever faced, I think Ward is phenomenally conditioned, is very durable, has a great chin, he can be hurt mind, we all know what happened against Darnell Boone, I think if he can ride the punches of Kovalev, and anticipate them, he should be able to withstand the offence of his potentially very dangerous opponent.

You're coming close to tempting me into making a return to the ring, haha, I'd have to get my licence first, something I was 'working on' 2 years ago. Yeah, well, if he fought me, I'd bring my dog to the ring with me, and he'd bite.

There's also the question of whether or not Ward really is a 175 lb fighter, it very likely that this fight is far too close for either to be able to afford any weight issues or ring rust, I suppose we can remember the fact that Ward has fought 3 times in the last 18 months, which isn't so bad compared to his big phase of inactivity over the period of 2012-2014.

Getting back to the Boxing...it was a really good fight. I was a bit surprised that Ward would lose a lot of ground in the Jab duel, but for the most part the fight went as expected.
Everytime I watch Kovalev fight, I have to be reminded that he is no Dummy. Rather than just being a swing away slugger kind of fighter, he is actually very smart on setting up traps and picking his punches.
Kudos to Andre Ward for managing to adjust to Kovalev offensive, even if it took him the first half of the fight to figure it out. Ward roughed Kovalev and worked on throwing him off his gameplan, to be able to land his own punches. He really had to press it up in order to win some rounds, while Kovalev eas relaxed for the most part.

It's not fair to say that Ward won because he slowed down kovalev or controlled the fight, because if you look at both guys in the same light, it's not like Ward did more then kovalev.. round by round punch stats obviously show that.

It's interesting, it's a subjective fight, mixed opinions wherever you look. Ward did do that, which is a former of demonstrating ring generalship, no that should be taken into account, then again, ring generalship is great, to control aspects of the fight, to control even your opponent to an extent, but if you don't build on it, then it shouldn't be over rewarded, very interesting fight. I think the rematch is the best option for everyone, you agree?

I got the exact same score, just a few rounds difference on who won what. Isn't it funny how this was clearly a razor close fight that even matches score for the same winner can have different rounds won. Yet at the same time you have many many people screaming robbery, it's sorta humorous to think about it.

Whilst not wanting to start conspiracy theories it is interesting that out of 18 possible rounds won from 3 judges in the last 6 rounds only one round was won by Kovalev and that was round 12 which was a 50-50 round. I find it bizarre the judges seemed to be split on some rounds which were close but were still Kovalev rounds like 3 and 6. Also there is no legitimate argument for Andre Ward winning round 10 on not just one but all 3 judges scorecards.

I do agree that hype and credit a good medalist gets when they start their products career should be calmed down, I mean look at Anthony Joshua, his pro debut, if that wasn't the main event, it may as well have been, I feel it should be, fight, hype, not hype, fight.

Doesn't it just frustrate you that a great new champion in Andre Ward is not getting the recognition he deserves?, even for those who like HBO and enjoy there coverage of fights, I think one has to admit, they did a poor job last month with Kovalev vs Ward.

I agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately the boxing forum I spend most of my time on does nothing but trash Ward and the "gift decision" even still to this day the outrage is still pretty strong. The forum was never really to high on Ward, but he probably lost enough fans where the split is now 95 out of every hundred posters dislike him. I really don't understand it as I sincerely thought Ward won a very close fought but clear decision. Believe it or not probably the biggest majority of people that dislike him or have turned against him did so not for the actual fight, but how he was acting after the fight before the scorecards were read (most folks there think his body language was that he thought he lost.) The other biggie is how he has been talking in the media following the win.

I still score the fight;

Rounds: 1,2(10-8),4,6 & 10 for Kovalev
Rounds: 3,5,7,8,9,11 & 12 Ward

For a 114-113 win for Andre Ward, in my eyes the rounds won by each fighter were very clear. Then again, the last time I scored Ali vs Frazier 1 I scored it for Ali (however the 5 times before that I scored it a close win for Smokin' Joe) as well as the last the last time I scored Ali vs Norton 1 for Ali, but that one seems very clear to me. Fan reaction I believe really affected the judges scorecards, and I believe it was the first time that a guy staying busy and keeping ALi in a corner or on the ropes yet not really landing much of note was scored favorably for the opponent.

I wrote a longer reply for this a while ago, but I lost it, but I will write a shorter one now.

I think there are a few reasons why fans genuinely believe that Kovalev clearly won, one of them is because they don't think on the fact quailty of work can mean a number of things. I think this whole 'who lands more?, who lands harder?", is insufficient criteria to be met, what I mean by that, is as you know, "the better punches" department isn't only about heavier punching, but about the cuter shots, the more accurate punches, the sharper shots, the overall superiority in terms of intelligence of a figher's work. An issue for this fight is, fans see Kovalev landing more punches than Ward, and landing the heavier punches, in their minds, he's won in two departments, neither fighter is hurt, and a lot of fans don't really understand what ring generalship really is, but they miss Ward's accuracy, the leverage on his shots, and the sharpness, I think this as well as as people not seeing Ward riding Kovalev's punches is decieving, I mean I can see why, the shot is still going in the same direction, but Ward is moving with the punch so he takes some of the force out of it, Kovalev is such a big puncher that even when Ward was doing a really good job of riding his punches, they were still good shits, but as the fight went on, Kovalev became fatigued (especially in round 11) and hus punches lost power anyway. I don't mind casual fans being fooled, and believing Kovalev won wide, that's not going to get to Andre Ward, but I expect more from analysts such as the HBO crew, and Doug Fischer (he scored the fight 117-110 for Kovalev, bless him), the could have gone either way, but Ward won, because he got the decision, on three valid scorecards, and if people are going to discredit the win based on those judges' past mistakes, then they may as well have said he couldn't have won before he stepped into the ring. I hope Ward vs Kovalev happens, it is still one of the best fights we could possibly see, I don't it beats Joshua vs Wilder, or Golovkin vs Canelo, but it's up there, I just hope nothing sabotages the fight, if the rematch does happen, who do you think wins?, I'd go with Kovalev, but like the first one, it's a 50/50 fight.

VERY VERY Happy the rematch is now Official!!!! Ward steps up and doesnt turn the negotiations into a chaotic drama. So many top ranked fighters stepping up to the challenges rather than act like Divas.This is good for boxing